Monday, December 29, 2008

For about the past two years, I've been steadily watching films off the 2007 American Film Institute list of the Top 100 U.S. movies, and I've finally seen them all. The last one for me, by the way, was "Bringing Up Baby," a romantic comedy from the late 1930s starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. "Baby," it turns out, is a little leopard that distracts the audience while Hepburn desperately tries to woo Grant. Forgive the lame segue, but this film-watching process has felt a bit like birthing, at least in its duration. Most of the movies were at least worthwhile, though, and I highly recommend this sort of list approach to anyone, like me, who can't ever seem to find anything to watch at the video store. I discovered many fantastic films on the list that I probably never would have seen otherwise. Those include: "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "Raging Bull," "Network," "Some Like It Hot" and "Gone With the Wind."

Although I love many of the films on this list -- including "Citizen Kane," "The Godfather," "Star Wars," "The Sound of Music," "West Side Story," "Cabaret," "The Sixth Sense," "Pulp Fiction," "Toy Story" and the ones listed above -- "The Wizard of Oz" best captures in my mind the mysterious magic of film making, when the process of character and plot development perfectly complements the imagery and the journey of the viewer to a very special place.

Next, I'm going to look back at the original list, from 1997, and see what films were dropped off in 2007. I'll view those efforts, too, and consider what changes I would make to the overall list, then report back.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Tom French, one of America's most interesting and accomplished journalists, takes readers/viewers behind the scenes of a zoo in ways that should inspire practitioners about the potential future of journalism:

Saturday, March 22, 2008

The Internet is going to bring us many interesting new forms of nonfiction storytelling, if we pay attention to the possibilities. Here is one intriguing model being developed through blogs by Josh Benton, a Nieman fellow.

Here are some great resources, via:

I don’t do this too often, but every now and then I offer up a list of places to search for freelance writing jobs. Today, I’m expanding that to include freelance blogging jobs. I hope that now that you know where I look, you won’t abandon us here!

Behold:

23 places to find freelance writing jobs and freelance blogging jobs.

About Freelance Writing - Anne Wayman’s awesome resource includes leads three times a week. I’ve been talking to Anne about trading some guests posts and collaborating on some things. She’s good people and looks out for writers. Also visit her blog The Golden Pencil.

Problogger - Darren Rowse’s blog about blogging features a job board filled with blogging gigs. I found a few great gigs here.

Performancing - In addition to checking out our job board, check out some great articles and forum posts about blogging.

Craigslist - Don’t laugh. Craigslist is an amazing resource. I found one of my biggest corporate clients on Craigslist. Just be sure to keep a wary eye out for scams and people who want something for nothing.

Indeed - Try this job search engine to narrow down your search. Better yet, use the Indeed search box in the sidebar to the right.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Food & Wine, the title aptly describes this magazine. Found this video series from MediaBistro.com, dubbed Pitch Slam, that asks top editors how writers can break into their magazines. This one quizzes Food & Wine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin.

Redbook is a classic women's magazine. Found this video series from MediaBistro.com, dubbed Pitch Slam, that asks top editors how writers can break into their magazines. This one quizzes Redbook editor-in-chief Stacy Morrison.

Best Life is a men's health magazine. Found this video series from MediaBistro.com, dubbed Pitch Slam, that asks top editors how writers can break into their magazines. This one quizzes Best Life editor-in-chief Stephen Perrine.

Cookie is a lifestyle magazine for parents, not a parenting magazine. Found this video series from MediaBistro.com, dubbed Pitch Slam, that asks top editors how writers can break into their magazines. This one quizzes Cookie editor-in-chief Pilar Guzmán.